Settling In
by emmaplodocus
Summary: Follows Blaine from the day he arrives at Dalton, friendless, lonely and scared to the day he meets Kurt, secure and happy. Focuses on Blaine at Dalton, Wes and David's friendship and the bullying he went through at his old school. Violence and angst.
1. Chapter 1

This is basically an excuse for me to write angst.

This will also be a lot of serious violence.

I've chosen to write each chapter with a particular format in mind, which is unusual for me. There will be Blaine's time at Dalton, a flashback to his old school and then something Wes and David related.

Violence

I know I have two stories on the go buuuuut updates are on the way. (Sorry.)

xxxxx

"Wait, I have a single room?"

Blaine's dad looked at his son in annoyance. "I know you think you can run around and do whatever you like whilst you're here Blaine but I assure you that is not going to be the case. You didn't honestly think I would pay to have you shack up with another guy did you? More to the point knowing about your condition it would be unfair on your poor roommate to inflict that upon them, you'll only end up making him uncomfortable. Stop being so ungrateful or I will send you back to Winston and you can pay your own damn hospital bills the next time."

Blaine winced internally. "You're right. I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting a room to myself that's all. Thank you."

"The second your ribs heal I expect you to be on a sports team. Sign up for the tutoring scheme as well. That will look brilliant on your college applications. If I hear any of your grades drop there will be trouble. You will maintain the level of respect and dignity I expect of you at home, I will not be embarrassed again Blaine, understand?"

Blaine stood there fresh out of the hospital and wanted to shout at the man before him that was embarrassed his son was beaten for being gay, instead he stood and answered with a quiet and stoic. "Yes sir."

"You have unpacking to do. You have to be at the main office half an hour before classes start tomorrow, someone will show you where everything is."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, one of the moving men with more boxes. Blaine had tried to help but he was still recovering and his dad had chided him, "what do you think I'm paying them for Blaine?" They dropped off a new TV and stereo system that Blaine never asked for or knew he was getting, he looked at his dad questioningly.

"There are a lot of important people here, I don't want you looked down upon - people might think you transferring mid-semester means we can't afford to send you here full term. You shouldn't have much time to watch it anyway."

Ah. Image. Let everyone know the rich boy could afford to come here but simply didn't want to.

"I'm going now. Your mother will no doubt be in contact and she can tell you about the arrangements for when we next want you home, probably a few weeks."

New school, moving out the house, just got out the hospital and they wouldn't want him home for a few weeks, his parents were apparently making the most out of Blaine being away.

"Bye dad. Thank you."

Matthew Anderson laid a hand firmly on his sons shoulders, not for comfort, but as a warning - for his fingers were digging into the bruising lining his skin and it took all the strength Blaine had left not to jerk away.

"Don't let me down Blaine, this is a fresh start for you, I've paid thousands of pounds for you to avoid getting in the hospital again, all I ask is that you do me proud for once."

Blaine blinked and watched his dad leave his room without a second glance or a kind word and felt, if possible, worse than he ever had whilst he was in the hospital.

He mechanically unpacked everything, arranged and tidied his room until it was immaculate. This would be the only night where he had nothing to do, he would soon have far too much catch up work to do and tomorrow he would have to look at school activities. He felt exhausted and every bit of his body still ached.

His ribs were still broken and his face was still bruised, he still walked with a slight limp which his dad had scolded him for walking with earlier. He was glad of his blazers long sleeves because his arms were covered in scratches and bruises just like the rest of his body and no matter what he did – sit, stand, shower or lie down, it hurt him.

He gingerly changed into some comfy sweats and a baggy soft shirt and lowered himself onto the double bed. He closed his eyes and let a shaky breath escape from his mouth.

Finally. The bullying at his old school had started young, and now, years later, he was free of that hellhole and here was here, at Dalton. A prestigious school with a zero tolerance bullying policy.

Blaine would be happy about this if it didn't sound too good to be true. The wasn't an ounce of him that believed this could possibly be real. They were obviously just better at hiding the bullying that went on and the school, much like his father would be too good at sweeping things under the carpet because of money. Blaine had 'easy target' written all over him, he would never make any friends here because he had never had any before and no one could guarantee he would be safe. The only positive thing would be the slight reprieve from his stifling father, who with the sounds of things would sill try to interfere as much as possible and was trying to ensure Blaine had no time for friends anyway. His mother hadn't even come to see him off, she was at the spa with her friends instead.

Blaine was lonely. This school might well be a new start but it didn't mean it would be a good one.

He laid down on his bed and let the tears fall. Whenever his dad had ever heard him cry he had always been scolded for being weak, he felt embarrassed, crying now, but he deserved to let go for a night before he would have to convince everyone he met tomorrow that he was someone else.

He hadn't cried like this since last week when he was in the hospital.

xxxxx

_The door to the private hospital room Blaine was in slammed shut unceremoniously as someone entered with no regard for the room's occupant. Blaine blinked at the door and the man who had entered through it and sat bolt upright in shock, hissing at the pain this caused him._

"_Dad…you came to see me."_

"_I have better things to do I won't be here for long. Have you been crying?"_

"

_Yes. Sorry." Blaine wiped his eyes wishing he had time to compose himself, but he hadn't known his dad would be here. He thought he was okay to cry for a bit._

"_Well stop it. Here." His dad threw a thick brown envelope down on the bed. "That's your new school you start when you leave here."_

_Blaine eyes widened and his surprise leaked out before he could think about it. "You're letting me move?"_

"_Don't interrupt me Blaine. And yes I am. Though you being such an embarrassment and ending up in here didn't present me with much choice. The school is one of the best, therefore it is very expensive. Despite the fact that it is a gay school it will be excellent on your college applications and I expect nothing less than perfection from you to make up for all of this trouble. You will get top grades, be involved in both sports and intellectual extra-curricular activities and apply for any more opportunities whilst there you can think of. There is a no bullying policy in place so when people figure out they don't like you again they wont be allowed to act on it and I can tell my work colleagues you attend Dalton without shame so we both win."_

_His dad had left without saying much more and Blaine hugged the leaflet for Dalton to his chest and cried his eyes out. He wasn't even sure he could pinpoint whether he was crying for his injuries, for his broken bones and his bruises, or for his dad who had just saved him but made him feel worthless all at once, or simply out of sheer relief. _

xxxxx

Lying on his new bed and thinking back to those words, he felt a saddening mixture of loneliness and gratefulness, and he didn't feel like he had won anything at all.

xxxxx

Wes and David saw the new boy move in, they were in the room next to him and had already been told someone would be moving in and to make sure they offered their help so that the new guy could have someone close by to go to if need be. Both were welcoming boys anyway and were interested by the idea of a new friend.

They were going to go and be nosey, and introduce themselves after the man who was presumably the guys father had left and after a couple of hours. They never did though, because they heard a sound coming from the now occupied room that was unmistakeable – they did have their ears pressed against the wall after all - the new boy was crying,

More to the point, he was absolutely sobbing.

They looked at each other guiltily, stepped away from the wall and Wes muttered, "Maybe we'll introduce ourselves tomorrow instead."

xxxxx

Please let me know what you think, should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all of your encouragement to continue.

Flashbacks are italicised, if for whatever reason people don't like this tell me and next chapter I will use a different line break.

Sorry about British slip last chapter. I will try harder to catch those :/

**Ammodytus** - I thought I would reply here so if anyone else was thinking the same, they would have an answer as well. Here, Blaine's dad isn't happy about sending his gay son to an all boys school, but Dalton is academically respectable enough for him not to be outwardly embarrassed about this, the embarrassment of having Blaine at home and taunted at school for being gay, is worse for him. Plus, it gets Blaine out from under his feet. Something that will come up again later is that between destroying his confidence and pushing him into a lot of activities at Dalton he's trying to ensure Blaine certainly won't find the time for boys anyway.

All of that will come up again anyway but I hope that cleared things up for you?

xxxxx

Blaine slept right through the night. He was exhausted from being upset and anxious. He naturally woke up early anyway - he was never allowed to waste time sleeping in at home and now his body clock was well and truly set.

It was 6am when he woke. He took a long shower and tried to calm his nerves. If the worst came to the worst, and Dalton ended up being as bad as his past school experiences then he wouldn't have to go home to his parents, he could deal with it alone and that would be a definite advantage.

He gelled his hair just like he had practiced at home. He wanted to look like he belonged here. At a respected school, he didn't want to look scruffy, he wasn't to pretend like he was in control.

He didn't want to stand out.

Bored of being finished with prepping for the day he grabbed his bag and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast hoping he could remember the way.

Luckily it seemed not many others were early risers and were happy to sleep in before classes. There weren't many there and he ate and finished up before it got busy enough to warrant anyone trying to sit with him or kicking him out of his seat should they normally sit there. He made his way to the reception area. On his way he took in the grandeur of the school. Blaine came from wealth and he had parents who relished in the power of status. He was used to gorgeous and rich architecture, to fancy buildings and unnecessary decorations - his own home was proof of this. Dalton though, awed him despite this. It was gorgeous and he hoped that he would be lucky enough to actually enjoy his time here.

The principle was a woman. She had been very kind to Blaine during his meeting with her upon his transfer. Blaine liked her instantly. She was strict and obviously took no trouble from the hoard of rowdy teenage boys she had to oversee daily but Blaine had spent his entire life in the presence of fake people and was inclined to believe that she was genuine enough. Still, when he saw he approach him as he lingered waiting for the time he was due in her office it didn't stop him from being extremely nervous. His old teachers had been less than useless and it was hard for hi to forget their incompetence.

She smiled at him from across her desk. "This is a folder with your make up work in it, don't worry about it too much though, your teachers are confident your grades at your old school were good enough for you not to have too many issues and you can complete it within your own time. Should you need the help we offer an excellent peer to peer tutoring programme. Now, did you find breakfast and your first night here to be of satisfaction?"

Blaine could feel himself blush as the image of how pathetic he must have been last night ran through his mind. He opted to lie. "Yes, thank you."

A knock at the door came and Mrs Blackman shouted whoever it was to come in. A tall, well built guy with perfectly styled yet crazy hair walked in and flopped down into the seat next to Blaine, grinning at him and offering his hand to shake. Blaine took it hesitantly, refusing, however much he wanted to would instantly let the guy know he was a freak. He took the boys hand and dropped it quickly hoping the guy didn't notice his own shake. The boy was still smiling as he turned to Mrs Blackman and Blaine was instantly jealous of his smile, had it been anyone other than he, they would have been instantly reassured by it. Unfortunately Blaine wasn't reassured by much nowadays.

"Blaine, this is James. He will be showing you around the school and answering your questions before you will start your afternoon classes today."

Blaine really hoped it wouldn't take that long. He wasn't a characteristically stereotypical person but this guy naturally made him nervous because he was a picture perfect version of the guys at his old school that had made his life a living hell.

"Blaine do you have any questions?" he shook his head. "Can I leave you both then?"

James instantly stood up. "No problem."

She smiled and was clearly under the impression that they wanted time to bond and talk without her there, Blaine wanted her to stay with them. Nevertheless, he stood and politely thanked her anyway.

"So Blaine…I'll look at your schedule and walk you to all your classrooms, show you round the school facilities and tell you anything I can think of that might help. Sound good?"

"Y-yes, thank you."

"Lets sit here for a couple of minutes then, get your schedule out." Blaine rummaged through his pockets, forgetting which one he had put the damn thing in in the first place, his cheeks colouring.

"Wow you're in some smart classes. Your teachers are all pretty cool actually, you should be in for a good year. Watch out for Ms Kelm who you have for biology she's really strict. Gets good marks though so just stay on her good side. All the teachers here have the same ideology - work hard and they're good to you. Any extra work you do they'll mark, and they're willing to get further to help you as long as you're good, respectful and work hard. You shouldn't have a problem, you're obviously a good student."

Blaine drank in every word. He didn't want to have to ask people things so he made sure he really paid attention.

Dalton was huge but the layout was thought through and deceptively easy so he felt confident he could find all his classes again. As they went through the school James was true to his word and pointed out many helpful details.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, we don't get many mid semester transfers. What's your story?"

Blaine stammered and stared at the ground. There was no way he was going to tell the truth, although it was probably obvious to due to his bruises anyway.

"I, er…"

"You clearly do mind me asking. Sorry, I'm nosey and you don't have to answer."

"Can you tell me about the sports teams please?"

Blaine hoped he would accept the change of conversation without outwardly acknowledging that's what it obviously was. Luckily, he kindly did.

"We pretty much have a sports team for anything you can think of. Information on all the meeting places and times are on the notice boards in all the common rooms and in the reception area. All the teams are really good. But you don't have to be in the school team to go to certain practices or use the facilities. The timetables are colour coded, practices you can go to, ones that are closed and when you can have free reign of the pool, gym, field and courts. Were you thinking of anything specific?"

"Maybe swimming? Probably soccer as well."

"You'll be busy if you do both." That's what he wanted. He wouldn't try for a team anyway, no one would want him and it would attract too much attention towards him but he could practice and train by himself.

"Thank you."

"No problem. If you see me around don't hesitate to ask for any help. Do you want to come to lunch with me? I can introduce you to some people if you want?"

"No thank you. I think I'm going to go to my room before afternoon classes. Thanks very much though."

James gave him an odd but not an unkind look which was probably a result of Blaine's absolute politeness and insistence he would rather not be introduced to potential friends and shook his hand again before leaving. Blaine walked briskly back to him room. He had an hour and a half before he properly started his classes. He was glad to be by himself again, James had been perfectly welcoming but he had still made Blaine nervous.

Blaine just wanted to slide through Dalton unnoticed. If he wasn't getting harassed he would be happy. But new kids always generated interest, people would want to talk to him for the sake of gossip and to see what he was like. He was scared of their reactions when they found out was nothing special.

xxxxx

Wes looked up at James who had just joined them at their usual dinner table and grinned. "Hey where have you been? Haven't seen you all morning!"

"I've been showing the new kid around."

Both Wes and David looked at each other and spoke with interest.

"What's he like? Unless there's more than one, he's got that single room next to ours."

"His name's Blaine. He's…timid. Got me out of maths though so he's alright in my book."

Blaine was actually in most of their afternoon classes. They didn't get a chance to say anything to him. He had practically died on the spot when their Biology teacher had told him to introduce himself in front of the class and they both privately agreed that maybe calling him timid was an understatement. He sat by himself when he could and sat a lot stiffer in his seat when there weren't enough free spaces and he had to sit with someone else.

He looked terrified.

xxxxx

_Blaine never sat in the cafeteria at school. He wasn't welcome there and he hated the attention he got whenever he sat in there. But the new guy at school had seen Blaine by himself and asked him to show him around and he was actually talking to him and Blaine just couldn't say no. He couldn't shake the hope within him that maybe this guy would end up being his friend. He was so in need of one that he was willing to take the risk. He and Liam sat at a table talking, Blaine was telling him about the school when they were joined by four others. Blaine tensed as two of his tormenters slid into a seat either side of him. One of the guys who sat opposite him either side of Liam kicked him under the table and he whimpered. _

"_Oi. New kid." Josh, the guy that had just kicked Blaine slung his arm over Liam's shoulder. "You want to go to school here and actually still want to live by the end of the day?"_

_Liam's mouth quirked as he quipped. "Is that a trick question?"_

"_Piece of advice mate. You stay away from the school fag and you'll do just fine. You're new, so we'll let it side. The last fag that decided to play nice with him learned his lesson and left." _

_Blaine winced as memories of the Sadie Hawkins dance flooded his mind. That was the final straw that had chased away his one and only friend, not to mention Blaine was now the only gay kid. The only target._

_Two days later Liam was one of his regular tormentors. _

"_Fag. Do you know how many showers I had to take after talking to you on my first day? You're disgusting." He backed Blaine up into a locker, pulled him forward by grabbing his shirt and slammed him back into the metal. Some people laughed and others ignored it, no one helped. No one cared when Liam solidified his newfound friendship with the bullies surrounding them by punching Blaine in the stomach either._

_Blaine was disgusted with himself because he understood why Liam was acting how he was. Who would risk getting treated the same way as he on their first day of a new school and all for a friendship that may not even work? _

_Still, he knew, that however lonely he was he would never treat someone how he was treated to get friendship._

_It didn't make his stomach hurt any less though. _

_xxxxx_

Now, he was the new kid and people were interested in him. For reasons less than admirable, Liam had been accepted at his new school but Blaine wouldn't be. He would just get unwanted attention from nosey people and then would be outcast again.

A knock at his bedroom door made him jump and he blushed as he got up to answer it. His hand though, hovered over the doorknob. Did he even want to answer it? What if whoever was there was coming to threaten him? Then again, if they were, was it better to not anger them by ignoring them? Another knock forced a yelp out of his mouth and a muffled '_see he is in there!_' from the other side of the door led to Blaine having to open it. Cautiously he opened the door and found two boys on the other side of it.

xxxxx

"Hi." Wes said, "We're in the room next to you," he points at the wall to Blaine's left, "and we just wanted to drop by and say hi." He extended his hand realising too late that this was apparently a big mistake as the guy looks sick at the thought of physical contact. Blaine does shake each of their hands in turn. He's clearly confused by their presence.

David spoke next. "He's Wes, and I'm David, you can come to us if you need anything. How are you liking Dalton anyway?"

"It's, okay. Thank you."

Blaine is looking at his feet now, desperate and nervous and Wes and David share a quick and uneasy look with one another. They knew he was quiet and nervous but they didn't think for one moment he would be this bad he was making them feel awkward.

Wes decided to cut the meeting short and thought it best to try again tomorrow, maybe in class. "Sorry to disturb you Blaine, it's just we knew you were new and we wanted to introduce ourselves, give you a couple of friendly faces. We'll see you tomorrow."

Blaine gave them a very weak goodbye, he was smiling widely now but it was obviously fake and Wes and David forcefully thought back to the crying he had done yesterday.

"Well," David says slowly after shutting the door to their own dorm room behind him. "That was awkward."

"It's like he doesn't know how to talk to people…If we weren't already aware that he was so shy I would call him rude."

"He didn't tell us to mind our own business though did he?"

"True. We'll try again tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

He had put down on the form he would only like to tutor freshman. The teacher that was in charge of the program had gushed about his willingness to integrate into Dalton and the only good thing Blaine would get out of the ordeal to satisfy him now, would be the letter sent to his father detailing his wonderful (forced) decision to help other students.

Blaine was resentful of having to do this to say the least.

He wanted to hide not meet new people who would already hate him for having to try and help them with school subjects they probably didn't even like. That's why he wanted to teach those younger than himself, he was hoping they would be just as timid as he was.

His dad was making sure that he had no free time, and he was making sure that Blaine would leave Dalton with the highest of honours and a list the length of his arm of things that he approved of that might hopefully delete Blaine's sexuality from the mind of any future employer.

Pete was the boy he was supposed to be helping. He was nice but easily distracted. Blaine felt very awkward around the bubbly happy guy and he had to bite back his tongue from telling the guy to shut up and work and if he concentrated maybe he wouldn't even need tutoring.

After an hour of awkwardly guiding Pete through a series of problems and helping him make actual revision notes Blaine wanted to run up to his room and hide. He was horrible at meeting new people. Pete, like everyone else Blaine had met at Dalton was perfectly nice but Blaine didn't know what to say and was certain Pete would find another tutor, someone who wasn't so boring. Soon, no one would accept his help. Blaine couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

The door to the study room opened and about twenty boys walked in, all different ages and immediately moving furniture out of the way. Everyone else in the room seemed to know exactly what was happening, they stood up, helped to move things and tittered excitedly. Pete had leaped to his feet in excitement and disappeared and Blaine was sat alone and confused, hoping he could escape before people realised he was clueless. The last thing he wanted was to look so out of place when he was trying so hard to blend in.

He stood, grabbed his bag and was ready to bolt but something made him turn around and look at the group of boys once again.

They were singing.

Blaine liked to sing. He loved it, and he didn't think he was bad either, but nothing in the world could ever possess him to sing in front of people. His dad hearing about a group of guys bursting into song in the school would be enough for him to make Blaine move schools again. He thought it was gay enough as it was.

Blaine was nervous for them. Why would they ever think that singing in front of people was a good idea? They weren't a proper band or anything, they were just going for it right in the middle of a stud room. They were going to get made fun of and that's if they were lucky.

Blaine wanted to leave. He didn't want any part of the violence that might occur as a result of this but he felt bad just running away, if they got hurt would he be just as bad as everyone in his old school who had watch him get hurt and ignored it? Should he fetch a teacher?

He was so preoccupied that it took him the entire first verse of the song to realise that not only were the boys who were singing not being harmed by bullies, but that everyone was loving their performance. It was an upbeat number and Blaine found himself tapping his fingers subconsciously. Everyone who wasn't singing was doing the same or dancing and grinning and Blaine finally allowed himself to watch as well.

He didn't watch too closely, afraid of being accused of staring at a particular boy rather than at the act as a whole but once he started, he was as thrilled by it as everyone else. The boys were all so confident and happy and they sounded amazing.

Blaine was jealous. He was glad that he was now in a school where talent such as theirs was appreciated and enjoyed, jealous because he could never do that.

Blaine noticed Wes and David amongst the boys, singing in the background. David in turn noticed Blaine and waved, nudging Wes who did the same. Blaine raised his own hand not wanting to seem rude but lowered his gazed embarrassed at someone noticing him watching. He felt dirty. Those guys didn't want him watching them. He should go.

He moved to leave and jumped slightly at the loud sound of applause. He joined in - it was an amazing version of the song. The boy who had sung lead thanked everyone and the group dispersed.

Blaine turned to leave and jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He tensed and the hand slipped away.

"Hi Blaine." It was Wes.

"Hi."

"Sorry didn't mean to startle you." Blaine flushed even further, it was bad enough he was so nervous without people actually noticing.

"Is that the first time you've seen the Warblers perform?" He nodded, did they do this often?

Wes laughed. "Bet that was a shock then."

"The Warblers?"

"Dalton's glee club. Did you like the song? We want feedback for sectionals."

"It was a really good adaptation. I liked it."

The boys smiled. "Thanks."

"Can you sing? You should audition!"

_xxxxx_

"_Blaine! Shut. Up!"_

_Blaine's mouth snapped shut immediately. He had been singing to himself whilst in the kitchen, he thought he was alone. His dad hated him singing, he thought it was girly. _

_Blaine was in a good mood - he had an unusually good day at school. One of his main tormenters had been off and he had only been shoved into a wall twice, aside from the usual insults he didn't have too many new injuries. _

_He loved to sing. Music was an outlet for him and always had been. The lyrics, the meaning, the inspiration that his favourite artists provided, all helped him through. He had little else to do after school work, so he listened to music a lot. He wrote songs and played his guitar and blocked out the world for a bit. An appropriate song could always be found for any situation._

_Today, he was singing upbeat and happy songs, something he realised he was doing less frequently the older he got._

_The silence of the kitchen was replaced by his father reprimanding him._

"_If you're going to sing," he sneered, "sing something manly. If you were normal you could join a band, but you can't because nobody wants a pervert like you trying to trick them into being fags as well. If you would just stop with this nonsense you might actually get somewhere in life. If you insist on being gay and friendless then do it silently so I don't have to put up with you howling."_

_xxxxx_

"No." Blaine looked at Wes and David who were both apparently hopeful. "I can't sing."

xxxxx

David was walking in the Dalton gardens, closely following the quiet new boy who had just left his room with a guitar in his hand. Curious, David decided to follow. He was allowed to walk in the gardens too after all…

He wanted to talk to the guy, to help him. It was so obvious he needed it.

Wes and David were nice boys. They were caring and kind and they were interested in Blaine Anderson, the quiet boy who arrived at Dalton so nervous and unsure. They knew, just from looking at him, just from the tiny snippets of conversation that something had happened to him to make him so scared. He would tense up and flinch and he either didn't want to, or didn't know how to have a conversation.

He didn't have any friends.

He did have a lot of bruises.

He cried.

And he was currently sat in the Dalton gardens, seemingly alone, singing a song David had never heard before. A sad song about loneliness and pain that David thought would be both sad and impressive if it were the boys own lyrics.

David decided to leave him, he would only be embarrassed if he knew someone had heard him.

Muttering to himself he walked back to his dorm. "Can't sing my arse."

xxxxxxxxx

I do genuinely appreciate **all **feedback. So trying to take the advice given for the last chapter from **Ammodytus** I tried to make this less focused on description and more on feeling. I didn't include what song the Warblers sang because it wasn't important but I did try to stress how Blaine was feeling when he watched them.

I hope you all liked it :)


	4. Chapter 4

Blaine had made it through a week at Dalton.

He had no idea how.

Even though he was living here now, it was hard for him to grasp that things would continue as they were now. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. He hadn't heard a single slur cast that wasn't joking and not even one of those had been cast in his direction.

Ironically Blaine recognised that despite this, despite having no new bruises and hearing no new taunts, it was putting him on edge rather than relaxing him. It was the calm before the storm. It was waiting for something so big to come that nothing came beforehand. It was building up and Blaine was scared.

He wanted to believe all of the good things people said Dalton had to offer, but he couldn't trust it yet.

He stood from his computer chair and stretched, deciding to finally walk down to dinner. He was hoping he would be there later than most so it wouldn't be as crowded.

Standing in line he felt a hand on his shoulder. Luckily, it was gone just as fast as it appeared and Blaine hoped whoever it was hadn't felt him stiffen up. It was Wes, David was right beside him.

Blaine smiled, not wanting to seem rude after they had yet again gone out of their way to greet him. He had to admit, the boys were nice, but a week wasn't long enough to erase the suspicions Blaine had spent years gathering.

"David go grab us a table I'll get your food."

"Okay. See you both in a minute then."

Both? Blaine was being invited to eat with someone again, and whilst whenever he had he never said much - if anything, he did like the company. He enjoyed listening to others and he had been people watching for years.

They collected their food and Wes lead Blaine over to David, making sure they all sat together.

"Didn't you get me any pizza? You're useless!" David looked really put out but Wes didn't even spare him a look before tucking into his own food.

"Blaine got the last piece. You'll live, fatty."

Blaine opened his mouth to apologise, to offer the pizza over, but David's next words froze his mouth shut.

"Aww man. Blaine I'm gonna kill you."

The tone in which David spoke didn't register. Just the words. In the cold voices of those from his old school.

This was it.

This is what he had been waiting for. The moment the security fell and the normality kicked in.

He'd been beaten up for less after all. Been beaten up for nothing.

He ran.

His mind was whirling. He could go up to his room but then they knew where that was, and there would be many empty hallways on the way there that if they caught him that would work well enough to hurt him in. Then there were the toilets and empty classrooms. He could go to a public room, the study room or something which might save him, but it might also means others would join in and Blaine would much rather be beaten up by two people than a group and there was always the chance he might actually make it to his room where he would be safe…

And oh god, which was worse?

He'd go to his room. Even if he got hurt he would be closer to his bed and his first aid kit.

He heard footsteps, voices, people and he ran faster.

He reached his room safely, and locked the door. He was shaking and scared and he knew he was only delaying the pain but it was more than he usually got so he would take it. Shaking, he sat staring at his door, waiting for the voices and the slurs to come.

He was safe. For now.

xxxxx

"What the fuck just happened?"

"Well David I do believe you just told the nervous new boy that arrived covered in bruises you were going to kill him and then he ran away."

"Fuck."

They ran after Blaine, hearing heavy footsteps from upstairs, they presumed he was going to his room. Wes shoved David in the side before launching himself up the stairs. They reached Blaine's door, but they both hesitated. Obviously Blaine was scared or he wouldn't have ran away…

Wes stepped forwards and knocked on the door. "Blaine, its Wes and David."

Silence.

"Please, just let us talk to you, we don't want to have to do it through the door…"

"Put the chain on the latch and then open up, we're not going to hurt you Blaine but its obvious you don't believe that…if the chain's on the door we can't get to you even if we wanted to."

"Which we don't!"

They stood in silence, trading looks with one another resigning themselves to having to talk through the door and grab him in between classes the next day. And then, the door opened. Blaine had opened the door, but he had indeed put the chain on and was still stood a couple of feet back. He looked shaken, weary and utterly defeated, he probably only opened the door to them because he was scared of ignoring them.

Wes and David both agreed right then, in that moment, that Blaine needed some friends, and they would get him understanding the difference between a joke and a threat if it was the last thing they ever did.

xxxxx

In the end Blaine opened the door. It would be worse if he annoyed them any more than he had done, but he did put the chain on and stand back, keeping his eyes half on the floor and half on them.

David spoke. "Look Blaine I am so sorry. I wasn't threatening you, I swear. I never meant what I said - I was joking…we say things like that a lot and I never thought you would assume I was serious."

Blaine swallowed…was he really only joking?

Wes seemed to hesitate for a second before he hit the nail on the head. "Blaine it is truly no harassment here so if anyone does say something to you, you can report it and have something done about it. Dalton takes things very seriously. I see that you don't believe that, but it is true."

Blaine looked at the boys but he didn't believe them. His old school had the pretence of being concerned about bullying but they had been less than useless and only made things worse. Why would Dalton be any different?

xxxxx

Blaine was sat in the principals office. He had been found sitting in the hallway whilst classes were in session, scolded for skipping and marched to the office. Apparently the bruise now lining his jaw didn't speak for itself.

"Blaine I am sorry but without any witnesses there is nothing I can do. My hands are tied. You understand."

Blaine didn't understand.

What he understood was that the word of four against one was convincing enough evidence for the teachers here even when the one was injured.

"We can keep an eye out for you, but if we don't see anything happen first hand we can not do anything."

The fact that the principal wanted to see with his own eyes Blaine get hurt, rather than trying to prevent it in the first place spoke volumes, but Blaine nodded nonetheless. He wasn't rude. He had been here before, many a time, he was even optimistic about the teachers ability to help at first, now sitting here was nothing more than an inconvenience.

Blaine began to nurse his bruised wrist, the swirling purples of it distracting from the pain in his face. A hand softly examined it too and turned it over slightly. He heard for the first time, some sympathy in the man's voice.

"I will escort you to the nurse. She will be able to help with the pain/"

"Thank you."

For nothing.

"I'm sorry there is nothing more I can do without any substantial evidence."

He didn't sound sorry and to Blaine, his injuries were more than substantial.

xxxxx

Blaine blinked at the boys in shock.

"Really?" The childish question left his lips before he had time to think about it, and he regretted it in his embarrassment but his need for reassurance was so high he did want to hear the answer.

David nodded. "Honestly."

"Give us a chance Blaine."

Blaine managed a jerky nod of his head…he didn't know what he was nodding too exactly but he didn't want to be rude now it looked like he wasn't going to be hurt.

"We'll leave you alone for a bit."

"I am sorry…"

They left and Blaine was left to shut the door unharmed but completely shocked.

Two hours later when there was a knock at his door, it felt like he hadn't even moved. He had replayed the afternoon over in his head so many times that he wasn't even sure it was an accurate portrayal of events anymore.

He opened the door, startling himself when he tried to pull it too far because he forgot the chain was on. Wes and David were there again with three slices of pizza for him on a plate.

"Since you missed dinner." David extended the plate and both boys smiled at him when he closed the door and reopened it fully. They seemed to understand that this was a big step of trust for the boy who earlier had kept the chain on and stood well away as well. He took the plate and thanked them and they were gone within minutes.

The next morning Blaine got ready a bit earlier than usual. His heart was hammering as he waited outside his room for Wes and David.

He was hoping to walk down to breakfast with them.

It was only pizza but it was still the nicest thing anyone had done for him in a long time. The small gesture made him think that maybe some people here were nice after all.

He thanked them again and they shared a high-five behind his back before walking him to breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry about the wait - I went on my holly bobs! :D


End file.
